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February 21, 2008

Lemuel Haynes, Revolutionary War Veteran and the first Black minister to serve for a white congregation, became the first Black person to receive an honorary degree (Master of Arts) from a white college (Middlebury College) on this date in 1804.

Nina Simone, entertainer known as the "High Priestess of Soul," was born in Tryon, NC, on this date in 1933. Simone recorded the highly acclaimed "I Love You Porgy" in 1959.

Barbara Jordan, lawyer, educator, Congresswoman, and the first Black person to give the keynote address at a national political convention, was born in Houston, TX, on this date in 1936.

Civil rights activist, Julian Bond, was elected Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors on this date in 1998.